The South Caucasus state's Constitutional Court approved on Wednesday the results of the October 15 presidential polls, in which Aliyev received 88.73% of the vote. According to Azerbaijan's top election authority, turnout was 75.12%. More than 4.8 million people were registered to vote.
Russia was represented at the ceremony by Sergei Naryshkin, the head of the presidential administration, while Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, CIS Executive Secretary Sergei Lebedev, and a Turkish deputy prime minister, Cemil Cicek, were also in attendance.
Aliyev took over as president when his father, Heydar, stepped down in 2003, subsequently winning 76.84% of the vote in that year's presidential election.
"I would like to reiterate today that I will remain committed to these policies [of Heydar Aliyev], and will not deviate from this path," the newly inaugurated president said.
He categorically opposed independence for Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population. The region declared its independence from Azerbaijan to join Armenia in 1988 and has been a source of conflict ever since.
"Never - not today, nor tomorrow, not in 10 years, nor in 50 years will Nagorny Karabakh be granted sovereignty," Aliyev said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said earlier this week he could soon discuss a Nagorny Karabakh settlement with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts in Moscow.
